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Thread: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

  1. #1
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    'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...a-bc-1.4875956

    A homeowner in central B.C. has been captured on video shooting a charging grizzly bear in his yard — a decision he says he made in trying to protect himself and his family, but one that has drawn threats in the days since.Lawrence Michalchuk said the sow and her three cubs had been living in his Bella Coola yard for days, and were acting territorial whenever he tried to leave the house.

    Earlier this month, he went outside to scare off the sow with a shotgun loaded with birdshot.

    The 54-year-old said he had no choice to do something about the animal, but never planned on having to shoot it.
    "What are your choices? You leave a bear in the yard who thinks it owns your yard … and then your kids go out there?" Michalchuk told the CBC in a phone interview from his home on Tuesday night.

    "By leaving them on the property, you're playing Russian roulette, and I'm not doing that with my kids or my family."

    Michalchuk's wife filmed the encounter with the bear and posted it on YouTube.

    Wearing a bright orange shirt and grey sweatpants, Michalchuk yells at the bear and fires a warning shot.

    The bear, which wasn't killed in the encounter, is seen at the far end of the yard near the treeline.

    The homeowner yells again and runs the five steps across the gravel driveway toward the bear. The grizzly then starts to charge and Michalchuk begins backpedalling, raising the 12-gauge shotgun to his cheek.

    He takes about a dozen steps back across the driveway and fires as the sow reaches the gravel.

    The bear falls and rolls over twice, shaking its head. Michalchuk turns and runs off-frame inside the house. The bear runs in the same direction and also goes out of view.

    "Are you OK? Oh sh*t! Where is it? Are you OK? Holy crap. Where is he? Where is she? Where did she go?" Michalchuk's wife asks as he gets inside.

    Michalchuk, who said he's been hunting since childhood, doesn't answer but can be heard breathing hard.

    "The last thing I remember is that she was coming at me with her mouth open," he said in the interview.

    "I didn't want to shoot her in the face so I clipped her in the right leg. Thank God when I shot, it did exactly what I hoped it would do: It tripped her."

    Michalchuk told the CBC he's been met with backlash and threats since the video was posted 10 days ago, with many asking why the father of two would provoke an aggressive mother bear with cubs.

    Michalchuk, who has spent 35 years working in fisheries, said people who fault him don't understand his reasoning.

    He'd just returned from a trip when his in-laws, who had been watching his kids, told him about the sow. They said making noise and yelling hadn't worked to scare it off.

    Michalchuk said it's not uncommon for homeowners to use guns to protect themselves and their property from bears in the Bella Coola Valley, which is about 420 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

    "It's nice to think that when you live in the city, it's not an issue down there, but here, I mean … yeah," he said. "This has been tough for me to take."

    Michalchuk said the bear eventually did leave the property. The B.C. Conservation Service confirmed it's investigating but declined to comment further.

    The family thought the bears were after apple trees on the property, which are behind an electric fence.

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  3. #2
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    This guy is An idiot.
    majorguns

  4. #3
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    Quote Originally Posted by stixnstones View Post
    This guy is An idiot.
    Yup situation should have never happened

  5. #4
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    Quote Originally Posted by stixnstones View Post
    This guy is An idiot.
    What exactly is it that makes him an idiot besides not using a slug on the second shot ?

  6. #5
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    Quote Originally Posted by E.B. View Post
    What exactly is it that makes him an idiot besides not using a slug on the second shot ?
    I wouldn't go so far as to say idiot, but I do wonder if he could have called his dog inside, rather than go out and front with it. That said, I'd like to think I would go out and get my dog. He came pretty close to being shredded, I think I would have gone for something more lethal than bird shot, personally.

  7. #6
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    I would have liked to see the results/outcome if he would have had “bear-spray” instead of the shotgun .

  8. #7
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    Why is he an idiot?

    The bears were not aggressive, at least not in the video, checking out what looks like fruit trees in his yard in BELLA COOLA. If you're not used to or comfortable seeing griz there, move!

    He could have called his dog in and been done with it.

    But, he was better off not using slugs as if he killed it, he would have probably been charged, as it was unprovoked.

  9. #8
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    Thumbs down Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    Quote Originally Posted by kootenaihunter View Post
    ... But, he was better off not using slugs as if he killed it, he would have probably been charged, as it was unprovoked.
    So instead he peppers her with birdshot, wounding her quite obviously.
    Will he now be held to account when this wounded bear attacks another Two-Legs?
    IMHO he bloody well should be!

    Nog
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNNhzkJ-UU&feature=related

    Egotistical, Self Centered, Son of a Bitch Killer that Doesn't Play Well With Others.

    Guess he got to Know me

  10. #9
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    Quote Originally Posted by IronNoggin View Post
    So instead he peppers her with birdshot, wounding her quite obviously.
    Will he now be held to account when this wounded bear attacks another Two-Legs?
    IMHO he bloody well should be!

    Nog
    Hey, I 100% agree with that, just saying it would have been worse, and been more of an idiot, to have used slugs.

    Extra bonus idiot points for posting a controversial video to youtube!

  11. #10
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    Re: 'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

    If I have a grizzly and cubs in my yard where my kids regularly play I would probably try to get it to leave the area, not just call the dog in. But that being said, if all I have is bird shot no way I am walking out there. The patio it was filmed from seemed to be a good vantage point from which to fire a few warning shots from. If however, that was not possible, or the dog would not come I would certainly go out there with a full load of slugs or high powered rifle.
    I don't shoot innocent animals... Just the ones that look guilty!

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